Device for coiling twined threads



y 1962 s. KARTMANN 3,032,960

DEVICE FOR COILING TWINED THREADS Filed Oct. 2, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 124b FIG. 7

77 79 l x A F l J 19 'K ii i 5 5 W i 13 2 T l 74 6/ We 23 i i n 76 -21 i75 )m I n -12 INVE NTOR:

DEVICE FOR COILING TWINED THREADS Filed Oct. 2, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 2Siegfried Kortmonn I NVENTOR.

May 8, 1962 s. KARTMANN DEVICE FOR COILING TWINED THREADS 5 Sheets-Sheet3 Filed Oct. 2, 1961 INVENTOR:

May 8, 1962 s. KARTMANN 3,032,960

' DEVICE FOR COILING TWINED THREADS Filed 001:. 2, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 4May 8, 1962 Filed Oct. 2, 1961 5. KARTMANN 3,032,960

DEVICE FOR COILING TWINED THREADS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

m H BY WWW Siegfried Kunmunn Unite rates My present invention relates toa device for coiling twined threads in the spinning or twisting offibers, particularly in ring spinning with the aid of a traveler whichcontrols the winding of the thread into a roving on a suitable spoolcarried by a rotating spindle.

In devices of this type, in which the thread is prevented from forming aballoon, there is generally provided a guiding orifice above the spindlehead, the thread upon traversing this orifice coiling itself around thespindle head before passing through the traveler. Since the degree oftwist imparted to the thread depends on the mbility of the traveler onits ring track, it is desirable to keep the tension of the thread bothabove and below the spindle head as low as possible in order to preventrupture ofthe untwisted upper thread portion and to minimize thefrictional resistance encountered by the traveler. It is equallyimportant, for uniformity of output, to maintain this tensionsubstantially constant throughout the coiling operation; I

My invention has as one of its principal objects the provision of meansfor realizing both these desiderata in an extremely simple andconvenient manner.

Another important object of this invention is to provide means forimparting an initial twist to the thread substantially at its point offirst contact with the spindle head, thereby strengthening the threadand reducing the risk of undesirable loop formation.

A further object of the present invention is to provide means forcontrolling the tension of a thread in such device while enabling thecoiling operation to be carried out indifferently in either a clockwiseor a counterclockwise sense.

Still another object of my instant invention is to provide a device ofthe character referred to which is particularly adapted to be used withspool formers of cylindrical configuration, capable of beinmass-produced by simple means, in contradistinction to the conicalshapes conventionally utilized to compensate for large initial threadtensions.

It is also an object of the invention to provide, in a device satisfyingthe aforestated requirements, threadguiding means free from flyers andother eccentric rotating members which are dangerous to the operator andwhose presence on a spindle head prevents the removal of the spoolwithout prior disassembly.

I have found, in accordance with the present invention, that theforegoing objects can be realized to a surprising extent by theprovision of a generally cylindrical spindle head facing the guidingorifice, this head being provided with a substantially cylindricalsurface having peripheral flutes, oriented preferably in axialdirection, which define a set of radial teeth extending over at leastthe major part of that surface; the ends of the flutes proximal to theorifice are open at an annular transverse cylinder face, the distal endof the cylindrical surface merging into a transition surface ofprogressively decreasing diameter approaching that of the spindle shaft,e.g. of conical shape, while the flutes terminate at or ahead of thejunction of the two surfaces in a transverse end Wall or in a fairinggradually approaching the cylinder diameter. A narrow continuous annularzone may be provided between the aforementioned junction and the distalends of the flutes.

While it will generally be most convenient to fashion the spindle headaccording to this invention by milling the flutes into the cylindricalbody so as to form the teeth integrally therewith, it will of coursealso be possible to affix the teeth to an inner core so as to define theflutes. The teeth may, in either case, have various profiles, includingthose encountered in conventional spur gears, and their shapes may bemodified in accordance with the type of filament to be processed; inmany instances it will be desirable to make the maximum depth of theflutes greater than their spacing in order to provide a relatively widetooth flank against which the thread will come to rest upon being lodgedin one of the flutes, the thread thereupon traveling along this flanktoward the open (normally upper) end of the flute whence it drops intothe next flute where it contacts a more remote (i.e. downward) point ofits tooth flank for a repetition of the cycle. I have found that onlynegligible changes in filament tension occur during passage of thethread from one flute to the next, the mean value of this tension beingso low that it is possible to provide the teeth with fairly sharp edgeswithout damaging the thread. As the latter moves upwardly toward theopen end of each flute, it experiences a rolling motion which imparts toit a preliminary twist, up to of its final twist. This effect isparticularly marked if the tooth flanks are provided with ridgesincreasing their effective surface area, e.g. by the use of undercutflutes in at least the upper, part of the cylinder. Otherwise, theflanks may be flat or, if desired, concave or convex. A furthersoftening of the thread passage from one flute to the next can berealized if the thread-contacting flanks of the flutes are positionedskew to the cylinder and spindle axis, with an inclination opposite thatof the thread during coiling, e.g. if the flutes increase in widthtoward the open end, this solution being equally applicable to bothsenses of rotation.

In some instances, particularly with very delicate filaments, it Will beadvantageous to provide a buffer member adapted to equalize even thesmall residual variations in tension produced by the gear-type spindlehead described above. sleeve, preferably of upwardly converging conicalconfiguration, freely rotatable about a portion of the spindleshaftadjacent the transition surface of the spindle head with interpositionof suitable anti-friction bearings. The top and bottom diameters of thissleeve should equal the. adjoining diameters of the spindle head and thespindle shaft, respectively.

A large variety of yarns, cords, fibers and other filaments can beprocessed with a system according to my invention. Large-size rovingswith axial lengths upward of 50 or 60 cm. can be readily producedthereby. The head may be made from different materials, e.g. metals,plastics or ceramics, and may be constnlcted as a unitary body or as anassembly of several pairs.

The invention will be described in greater detail with reference totheaccompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view (partly in section) of a spindle headembodying the invention, in combination with other elements of thesystem;

'FIG. 2 is an elevational view (parts broken away) of a system similarto that shown in FIG. 1, showing a modified spindle head;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view generally similar to FIG. 1 illustrating afurther modification;

. FIG. 4 is yet another perspective view (parts broken away), showing astill further embodiment;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are fragmentary sectional views respectively taken on thelines V--V and VIVI of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is an elevational view, generally similar to FIG. 2, of stillanother modification; and

FIG. 8 is an elevational view of a final embodiment of Such buffermember may take the form of a.

3 a spindle head according to the invention, in combination withadditional elements of a thread-coiling assembly (parts broken away).

Reference will first be made to FIG. 8 for a description of the overallorganization of the type of coiling device to which my inventionrelates. It comprises, essentially, a spindle shaft 112 which isrotated, by any convenient driving mechanism not shown, about its axisas indicated by the arrow 100. The lower, cylindrical part of shaft 112carries a cylindrical tube 101 of cardboard, fiberboard sheet or otherconventional materials, serving as a spool former, which is frictionallyfitted on the shaft or otherwise entrained by it for joint rotation. Anannular socket 102 carries a ring 103 forming a track for a traveler 104which is traversed by a thread 125 to be wound into a cop or roving 155;this thread, delivered in its entirety or as individual filaments fromone or more supply reels, bobbins or the like, not shown, passes betweena pair of feed rollers 124a, 12 1b around a deflecting roller 106 andthence through an orifice 155 in a guide plate 154 toward the head 113of the spindle shaft; head 113 is representative of any one of theseveral spindle heads described in detail hereinafter with reference toFIGS. 1-7.

An auxiliary thread guide 161, here shown as an L- shaped arm having athreaded extremity secured by screws 163, 164 to plate 154, is formedwith a slot 162 vertically aligned with orifice 155 along the spindleaxis in order to limit any lateral excursions of thread 125. The latteris coiled in a few turns about spindle head 113 and shaft 112 beforepassing through traveler 104. It will be observed that the shaft 112 hasa tapered intermediate portion 111 whose conicity is such that the tube101 on the adjoining lower shaft portion can be upwardly removedtherefrom without diificulty, with guide plate 154 swung out of the way,since its inner diameter is larger than the outer diameter of head 113.Traveler 104 and its support 102, 103 are mounted on an arm 107 formingpart of a conventional mechanism, not further illustrated, forreciprocating this assembly vertically as indicated by arrow 108. Theuse of a deflecting roller 106 affords increased flexibility in thepositioning of the feed rollers and the filament supply.

FIG. 1 shows a spindle head 13, carried on the frustoconical portion 11of shaft 12, which comprises a cylindrical top portion 14 and a conicalbottom portion 15 with downwardly decreasing diameter, the latterportion forming a transition surface 16 between the peripheries ofcylinder 14 and shaft portion 11. Head 13 is removably secured to shaft12 by a screw 18 whose head 17 bears upon the bottom of a recess 34 inthe upper transverse face 22 of cylinder 14.

The periphery 19 of the cylinder 14 is provided with a series ofvertical flutes 20 which form teeth 21 between them, thereby giving theportion 14 of the head 13 the appearance of a spur gear. The thread 25,continuously advancing between the feed rollers 24a and 24b, of whichthe former may be driven as indicated by its arrow, passes through anorifice 26 which is formed as an eye on a thread-guiding rod 27. Theflutes 20, open at the top, are closed at the bottom by a wall 23forming the upper boundary of portion 15. The upper part of the threadincludes an angle X with the edge K of a tooth 21 bounding the flute 20in which it is received, the thread contacting the edge K at point Bwhere it is bent onto a helicoidal path hugging the lower part of head13 and the shaft portion 11. Edge K constitutes the outer boundary of atooth flank A against which the part of thread received in flute 20comes to rest during the continuing counterclockwise rotation (as viewedfrom above in FIG. 1) of the spindle shaft, the contact point Btraveling upwardly on edge K until it reaches the annular face 22whereupon the thread falls into the next-following flute. ,It will beapparent that the angle X progressively increases during this upwardtravel of the contact point; the speed of such travel depends of courseon the difference between the feed rate of the rollers 124a, 124b andthe peripheral velocity of tube 101, this difference in turn determiningthe lag of the traveler 104 behind the rotation of the tube. The tensionin filament 25 has a very low value which can be adjusted by varying theelevation of orifice 26.

FIG. 2, in which elements having counterparts in FIG. 1 have beendesignated by corresponding reference numerals followed by a prime, thehead 13' is generally similar to head 13 of the preceding embodiment sothat it and its components need not be further described. Shaft 12'differs from shafts 12 and 112 in that its upper portion 11' adjacenthead 13' is of reduced cylindrical configuration, this portion beingsurrounded by a sleeve 28 whose .outer surface is of substantially thesame frustoconical shape as the shaft portions 11 and 111. Sleeve 28 issupported on shaft portion 11' through the intermediary of ball bearings29 which enable it to rotate independently of the shaft, in particularto lag behind it for equalizing the slight variations in thread tensionoccurring as the filament or cord 25 skips from one flute 20" to thenext.

The spindle top shown in FIG. 3 is substantially the same as thatillustrated in FIG. 8, hence the same reference numerals have been usedas far as applicable; elements having counterparts in FIG. 1 bearanalogous numerals supplemented by a 1 as a hundreds digit. The flutesterminate short of the junction 31 between the cylindrical surface 119and the frustoconical surface 116 so that a continuous annular zone 32is formed above that junction. These flutes are bounded by slightlyconcave flanks A of adjacent teeth 121 whose edges K are successivelycontacted by the thread 125 at points B. The flanks A are of generallytriangular configuration, with the apex of the triangle pointingdownwardly, the lower ends of the flutes being faired into thecylindrical surface 32. Moreover, the flutes 120 converge toward thebottom, the edges K thus extending generally skew to the axis of shaft112. Head 113 is formed with a depending collar 35 embracing the top offrustoconical shaft portion 111.

FIGS. 46, in which double primes have been used to designate elementshaving counterparts in preceding figures, show a spindle head 13 whichis generally similar to head 113 but differs from it in the shape of itsflutes 20". These flutes, as best seen in FIG. 5, are undercut in theirupper reaches by lateral grooves 41 whereby the flanks A" of teeth 21"are divided by ridges A into inner zones A and outer zones A The lowerparts of the grooves are of simple trapezoidal cross-section and boundedby flat flank surfaces A as seen in FIG. 6. Horizontal lines T (FIG. 5)tangent to the surfaces A converge in radially outward direction whereassimilar tangents T (FIG. 5) and T (FIG. 6) to surfaces A and A divergeoutwardly. This configuration results in intensified pretwisting of thethread 25 as it rolls upwardly along the flanks of the teeth 21". Thespindle axis has been indicated at SIQA.

In FIG. 7, which again shows the aforedescribed head 113 on its spindleshaft 112, the plate 154 of FIG. 8 has been supplemented by a furtherplate 153, positioned therebelow above the spindle head, which has acircular aperture 152 penetrated by a cylindrical stud 151 rising fromthe recess 134 where it replaces the bolt heads 17, 17, 117 of precedingembodiments. Thus, there is formed between the periphery of aperture 152and stud 151 an annular slot traversed by the thread 125, the upper edge156 of stud 151 and the lower edge 157 of aperture 152 beingrespectively positioned outside a cone of which a thread stretched tautbetween orifice and a flute 120 forms a generatrix. By this means thethread 125 is bent twice, for more positive guidance, as it passesthrough the plates 154 and 153. Aperture 152 and orifice 155 communicatewith the outer peripheries of their plates via respective slots 158, 159which are inclined at an angle other than that normally assumed by thethread 125 and facilitate the introduction of the thread into theseopenings.

My invention is, of course, not limited to the specific structuraldetails described and illustrated; modifications thereof, as well ascombinations and substitution of compatible features from differentembodiments herein disclosed, will be apparent to persons skilled in theart, and are intended to be embraced by the scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device for twining threads, comprising a spindle with aspool-receiving shaft portion and a free end, a generally cylindricalhead coaxial with said spindle on said free end, first thread-guidingmeans in line with the spindle axis beyond said free end, and secondthread-guiding means at said shaft portion including a traveler ringsurrounding said spindle; said head being provided with a substantiallycylindrical surface formed with a peripheral array of equispaced flutesextending generally in the axial direction and forming teeththerebetween, said flutes extending over at least the greater part ofsaid cylindrical surface and being closed at their ends facing saidshaft portion while being open at their opposite ends facing said firstthread-guiding means.

2. A device for twining threads, comprising an upright spindle with aspool-receiving lower shaft portion and a free upper end, a generallycylindrical head coaxial with said spindle on said free end, firstthread-guiding means in line with the spindle axis above said free end,and second thread-guiding means at said shaft portion including atraveler ring surrounding said spindle; said head being provided with asubstantially cylindrical surface formed with a peripheral array ofequispaced flutes extending generally in vertical direction and formingteeth therebetween, said flutes extending over at least the greater partof said cylindrical surface and being closed at their lower ends whilebeing open at their upper ends.

3. A device according to claim 2 wherein said head is provided belowsaid cylindrical surface with an adjoining transition surface having adiameter which decreases progressively from that of said cylindricalsurface to substantially the diameter of an adjacent spindle portionsupporting said head.

4. A device according to claim 3 wherein said transition surface has anaxial extent substantially less than that of said cylindrical surface.

5. A device according to claim 3 wherein said transition surface issubstantially conical.

6. A device according to claim 3 wherein said flutes terminate abovesaid transition surface, thereby leaving a continuous annular zone onsaid cylindrical surface.

7. A device according to claim 3 wherein said head is formed at thelower end of said transition surface with a depending collar embracingsaid adjacent spindle portion.

8. A device according to claim 2, further comprising fastening meansremovably securing said head to said free upper end.

9. A device according to claim 2 wherein said spindle has an upperextremity of reduced diameter relative to said lower shaft portion,further comprising a sleeve freely rotatable on said upper extremity,said sleeve having a periphery forming a transition zone between thelower end of said head and the upper end of said lower shaft portion.

10. A device according to claim 9 wherein said sleeve is of upwardlytapering configuration.

11. A device according to claim 2 wherein said lower shaft portion hasan outer diameter larger than that of said head.

12. A device according to claim 2 wherein said flutes converge in adownward direction.

13. A device according to claim 2 wherein said flutes becomeprogressively shallower at their lower ends until terminating on saidcylindrical surface.

14. A device according to claim 13 wherein said flutes have undercutupper portions formed by substantially vertical lateral grooves in theflanks of adjacent teeth, thereby separating said flanks into inner andouter zones.

15. A device according to claim 14 wherein said flanks diverge radiallyoutwardly along said outer zones.

16. A device according to claim 2 wherein said flutes have asubstantially trapezoidal profile.

17. A device according to claim 2 wherein said first thread-guidingmeans comprises an upper guide element forming an orifice in line withthe spindle axis and a lower guide element forming an annular slot, saidslot having at least one thread-contacting edge lying outside a conewhose generatrices extend from said orifice to the upper ends of saidflutes whereby a thread received in said orifice and in one of saidflutes is bent at least once on passing through said slot.

18. A device according to claim 17 wherein at least one of said guideelements is formed with an inclined access slot facilitating insertionof said thread from without in a radial direction.

19. A device according to claim 17 wherein said lower guide elementcomprises a plate provided with a circular aperture, said head beingprovided with an upstanding central stud projecting into said apertureand defining said annular slot therein.

20. A device according to claim 2 wherein said first thread-guidingmeans comprises a lower guide element forming an orifice and an upperguide element adjustably supported on said lower guide element, saidupper guide element having a thread-receiving notch aligned with saidorifice on the axis of said spindle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,217,371 Kowarick Oct. 8, 1940

